There has been a movement in recent years among on college campuses to go green. The Princeton Review, best known for publishing annual college rankings, had added a new ranking for 2009 and will recognize green efforts. The Green Rating ranked 534 colleges according to their environmentally related policies, practices and academic offerings.

A college’s Green Rating is based their performance in three main areas:

1. Do students have a campus quality of life that is healthy and sustainable? 
2. Are students prepared for employment and citizenship in a world defined by environmental challenges?
3. The school’s overall commitment to environmental issues.

Princeton Review also created a 2009 Green Rating Honor Roll recognizing 11 colleges that received scores of 99 or more, which is the highest score possible. A few colleges that made the list include Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Washington, and Harvard College.

I am encouraged that these rankings, which are often taken to heart by college administrators and thousands of college bound students, will strengthen sustainability practices at all colleges and universities, as well as highlight areas of success and areas for improvement. Of course, at Community Energy, we have been working to green colleges and universities for 10 years, and we count about 50 higher education institutions as customers.

You can find more about methodology, who else made the Honor Roll and download the press release by visiting the Green Ratings section of the Princeton Review website.